Press Release

Spectrem Study Reveals How Affluent Investors Are Reallocating Their Portfolios in the Midst of Market Volatility - January 19, 2016, Press Release

Chicago, IL, Jan. 19, 2016 – With the S&P 500 essentially flat in 2015, affluent investors are reducing their exposure to equities, according to a new study from Spectrem Group. Among Mass Affluent investors, (households reporting net worth between $100,000 and $1 million) the average value of stock mutual fund holdings declined nearly 18 percent in 2015.

The study also reveals that nearly six-in-ten (57 percent) of Mass Affluent investors report working full time in 2015, compared with just half in 2014. Additionally, homeownership among Mass Affluent investors aged 35 and under declined 12 percent in 2015, and among those aged 36-44, homeownership was down 13 percent.

Looking at the five-year period between 2010 and 2015, the study shows the percentage of investable assets held by Millionaires (with a net worth between $1 million and $5 million) and Mass Affluent investors declining from 62 percent to 55 percent for Millionaires and from 43 percent to 38 percent for Mass Affluent investors.

Among Ultra High Net Worth investors (with a net worth between $5 million and $25 million), equity investments remain a very large part of their portfolio, with over three-quarters holding individual U.S. stocks and U.S. stock mutual funds, both with average balances of more than $1 million. More than 30 percent say they intend to invest internationally in the next 12 months with Europe as the favorite investing destination. Only 11 percent said they intend to invest in China in the next 12 months compared with 27 percent in 2011.

“Given increased market volatility, affluent Investors are clearly more reluctant to invest in the stock market than they were a year ago, and significant numbers are unwilling to invest outside the U.S.,” said George H. Walper Jr., President of Spectrem Group.